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Deadly Airstrikes Continue in Aleppo; Massive Blast Kills Dozens in Iraq; How Will Trump Deal with Crisis in Syria?; "Brady Bunch" Mom Florence Henderson Dies at 82; Earthquake, Hurricane Strike Central America; Rohingya Refugees: Fleeing Torture in Myanmar. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired November 25, 2016 - 04:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[04:00:23] MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Another day of deadly air strikes in Aleppo. Yesterday, at least 59 people lost their lives.

While a massive blast kills dozens of pilgrims in Iraq. We're following the latest news out of both regions for you.

Plus, as he settles into his new role as president-elect, we take a closer look of how Donald Trump might deal with the volatile situation in Syria.

And we say good-bye to this lovely lady. Florence Henderson, TV's Mrs. Brady, has died. We'll look back at her career as America's mom.

Thanks for joining us. I'm Max Foster in London. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

(MUSIC)

FOSTER: We're learning what issues have been at the Thanksgiving cable. President-elect Trump has been spending time with his family at his estate in Mar-a-Lago in Florida.

In a tweet on Thursday, he said he's working hard, trying to get the Carrier A.C. company, a furnace-making plant, to stay in the U.S. and not move 1,400 jobs to Mexico. The company became a flashpoint in the campaign when a video of an executive telling workers the plant was closing went viral.

Another series of tweets is also showing what's going on inside the transition. Top Trump aide Kellyanne Conway highlighted the anger amongst Trump supporters with Mitt Romney, a leading contender for secretary of state, with this tweet. She told CNN she was only tweeting the same message she's been telling Trump and Mike Pence in private.

Meanwhile, two sources tell CNN that Trump will likely pick Chicago Cubs co-owner Todd Ricketts as deputy secretary of the Commerce Department. He comes from a family of major conservative donors, but they have been -- they had a rocky past really with Trump.

While Mr. Trump and his team are busy filling administration cabinet posts, they're downplaying a report that the president-elect has been skipping most of the daily intelligence briefings since his election. "The Washington Post" says he's only met twice with intelligence analysts. Vice President-elect Mike Pence, though, has been receiving his briefings almost daily.

Some Americans are calling for recounts in three states that were key to Donald Trump's presidential victory. Trump won close victories in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Votes are still being counted in Michigan. But Trump is still in the lead there.

Some experts say Clinton's vote totals in areas with electronic voting looked too low compared to those with paper ballots. They've raised concerns that votes tallied electronically may have been hacked and say recounts are the only way to rule that out. Deadlines to request recounts are fast approaching. It's Friday in Wisconsin, Monday in Pennsylvania, and Wednesday in Michigan.

Green Party candidate Jill Stein opposed Clinton in the election but now says she's raising money for the recount. So far, Stein's raised more than $4.6 million with the goal of $7 million. The Clinton campaign has not asked for a recount in any state.

CNN's Paula Newton spoke with Jill Stein about the recount movement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JILL STEIN, U.S. GREEN PARTY PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Let me say, you know, the anomalies remain to be seen. To my mind, the real concerns here are that we know there was hacking going on all around this election, hacking into voter data bases, into party data bases, into individual e-mail accounts. And in addition, we know that the voting systems that we use, many machines, wide open to hacking. In fact, some of the machines used in Wisconsin have been made illegal by the state of California after it was proven how easy it is to tamper with them and to install basically malicious programming.

So, you know, it's unfortunate that the American people are in a position right now where we're very skeptical. We're not only skeptical about the vote and the election, people have a widespread cynicism about our basic institutions of government, the Supreme Court, about the executive, about Congress, you name it. This was the most --

PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: But what is your -- but what is your skepticism and cynicism mean? Because some people would take it to mean that you're trying to delegitimize the presidential election that just took place.

STEIN: You know, I think we don't want to sweep our doubts under the rug. We want to actually stand up and confront them and show, let's show that this vote was valid. We're not saying that there is, you know, specific evidence of fraud here, by no means.

[04:05:06] There are some questions that have been raised but they've not been proven. But I think what we need is a voting system that should have built-in quality assurance. We do that in all kinds of other things.

I'm a medical doctor. We have all kinds of quality assurance built into our healthcare and into the delivery of services. We should have quality assurance built into our votes. It shouldn't require proof of a disaster or proof of fraud in order to install cross checks into our voting system. We should have built-in audits that ensure it's valid --

NEWTON: We've heard this before the vote. And yet, the states across the board said, look, this voting system is sound. Why now? Why after the vote?

STEIN: Well, you know, I was approached by a variety of computer scientists and election integrity experts who said they now felt that there was a critical mass of evidence that we could prove this in court. And -- well, prove in court -- not fraud but prove in court that we need reassurance, that we need quality assurance built into the system.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Jill Stein speaking to Paula.

Here in London, Brexit's leader Nigel Farage says he has no plans to meet with the president-elect face to face when he visits the U.S. in the next few days, but he says he does hope to improve relations between London and Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIGEL FARAGE, INTERIM UK INDEPENDENCE PARTY LEADER: I don't think I'm going to be made the British ambassador, all right? Let's be honest with the about it. I'm not foreign office. Maybe I'm the type.

But I did have 20 years in business before getting involved in politics. I do know how to cut deals. I do have the support, amazingly, of the president-elect, and I do know a number of his team, some of whom I've known for years. I am very keen for Britain and America to get closer again.

I genuinely -- my critics would say that I've spent my career in politics trying to knock down buildings. Well, now, I'd like the chance to try and help build one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Farage referring there to Trump breaking with diplomatic protocol on Monday when he tweeted that Farage would do a great job as British ambassador to the U.S.

A spokesman for Prime Minister Theresa May responded, "Thanks, but the position is filled."

We'll return to Iraq where ISIS is claiming responsibility for a deadly truck bombing on Thursday, saying it was in retaliation for the ongoing battle in Mosul. At least 80 people were killed in the blast at a gas station southeast of Baghdad. The victims were mostly Iranian Shiite pilgrims. They were on buses heading from Iraq to the holy city of Karbala.

Now to eastern Mosul, where ISIS is no longer in control but is still a threat. We're hearing dramatic stories of death and survival from people inside the city.

CNN's Phil Black reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These people have just lived through the horror of urban warfare. They cowered in their homes for days, prayers and white flags their only protection as Iraqi forces fought their way through the neighborhoods of eastern Mosul against fierce ISIS resistance.

Now, there is little food, water, or medicine. No electricity. But there's much relief.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A dark thing on the chest.

BLACK (on camera): ISIS is like a dark thing on the chest.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

BLACK: And it's gone now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, Daesh, the dark thing is gone.

BLACK (voice-over): You could hear the fighting in the near distance.

(EXPLOSIONS)

BLACK: It's still dangerously close. ISIS is gone from the streets, but its ability to harm these people hasn't passed. Just 24 hours ago, we're told, a family was sitting here outside a home when a mortar struck a short distance away, and an 18-month-old girl was killed.

Her name was Amira Ali (ph). Her father, Omar, is overwhelmed with grief.

He cries, "What did she do wrong? She was just playing. She's gone from me, and she's my only one."

Every day this makeshift clinic inside Mosul sees the terrible consequences of mortars fired into civilian areas. It's a bloody production line. The wounded are delivered, patched up quickly, and loaded into ambulances to transport to hospital.

At times, it seems endless, as one ambulance pulls away, another military vehicle speeds in carrying more wounded civilians. They're unloaded with great care as the medics work to help the victims of yet another ISIS mortar attack. But they can't save everyone.

This man's 21-year-old son was killed.

[04:10:00] He says, "A mortar just fell in front of the door, we came, and he was just a piece of meat. Four or five of my neighbors were standing with him, and they're all dead."

(CRYING)

Here, another parent falls to the dusty ground before the body of her son.

These people endured two years of living under ISIS only to be killed by the group's desperate military tactics and its total indifference to the lives of the innocent.

Phil Black, CNN, Mosul, northern Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: While in Syria, some of the quarter million trapped in eastern Aleppo could start starving to death in less than ten days. That's according to the head of volunteer group White Helmet. They also told "Reuters" that rescuers have almost no resources to pull people from the rubble. On Thursday alone, at least 59 killed in the besieged city. A suspected chemical attack involving chlorine killed one woman. More than 300 in rebel-held neighborhoods have been killed in ten consecutive days of government air strikes.

In the meantime, the anti-ISIS coalition is going after the terror group in Syria and Iraq. CNN has gained exclusive access to a very secretive plane spying on ISIS militants.

CNN senior international correspondent, Fred Pleitgen, has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Fighting ISIS in a space suit. We can only identify the pilot by his first name, Captain Steven, and by his call sign, Meathead. He's about to embark on a high-altitude reconnaissance mission in a U2 spy plane.

We were given rare access to the preparations, launch, and landing on one of these highly secretive mission that's have a clear objective, one of the pilots tells me.

MAJ. MATT, U.S. AIR FORCE: With the U2, we're able to get out there and find those guys, track 'em, get information back to the fighter types, bomber types. So, when they go out, they've got the best intel, best information about where they are, and then obviously do what needs to be done.

PLEITGEN: The U2 can fly extremely high, more than 70,000 feet, and get pictures and information to forces on the ground very fast. It's a Cold War-era plane flying since the 1950s, but its cameras and sensors have been completely upgraded. (on camera): With its many technological upgrades, the U2 dragon lady

remains one of America's main assets in the information-gathering effort against ISIS. But, of course, intelligence gathering happens on many levels. And much of it happens through drones like this Global Hawk which patrols in the skies above Iraq and Syria almost every day.

The information from these surveillance platforms is key to helping jets from the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition strike their targets in support of forces combating the group on the ground in places like Mosul in Iraq.

But while the U2 can soar higher than almost any other plane, it's pretty hard to land. We're in a chase car that speeds after the jet helping to guide the pilot to the ground after almost a ten-hour mission. Peeling himself out of the cockpit, Captain Steven says he believes the U2 is making a major impact.

CPT. STEVEN, U.S. AIR FORCE: Things we can do while we're up there, as well as how often we're up there, thanks to the maintenance guys we're constantly up in the air providing support to those who need it most.

PLEITGEN: The need for the U2 services will remain in high demand while ISIS may be losing grounds, the group remains deadly and elusive.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, in the Middle East.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: And you're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

Coming up, Donald Trump will soon face the immense challenges in the Middle East including the war in Syria. We'll discuss what Trump said during his campaign about Washington's role there and what analysts say is really doable, just ahead.

And tributes to the woman who led one of TV's most famous families, "The Brady Bunch." Florence Henderson has died at the age of 82.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:18:05] FOSTER: China has ordered all residents of the Xinjiang region to surrender their passports. Those who want to travel abroad need to get permission from local authorities. The government has not said why they're confiscating passports. But activists say Beijing is deliberately targeting Muslim Uyghurs. In the past, China has targeted the minority group, which it blames for multiple attacks.

Staying with China, the death toll in Thursday's construction accident in the eastern part of the country has risen to 74. The disaster happened when a platform at a power plant collapsed, and that's according to the state-run news agency. Rescuers scoured the debris looking for survivors. Authorities say 68 people were on the platform at the time of the collapse. The structure itself was built around a cooling tower that's been undergoing repairs.

Wildfires continue to rage across parts of Israel and the West Bank. Authorities say there's evidence a number of the fires are caused by arson. An official says at least ten people have been detained in connection with the blazes which began on Tuesday north of Haifa. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters that those arsons would be treated as terrorism.

For more, let's bring in CNN's Oren Liebermann. He joins us now from Haifa, in Israel.

Is there a history of these sorts of arson attacks there?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not like we've seen. The question is how many of these fires were arson, how many were negligence, and were any naturally starting fires. That, though, is the next question. Once all these fires are out. Many are under control, but crews are working to deal with hot spots, one of which just flared up right here behind me a few minutes ago.

This was a fire that fire crews dealt with yesterday. It flared up just a few minutes ago. Fire crews rushing to the scene to put this out before it got any worse. You see the effect it had yesterday, gutting this building. If you can see inside those windows, that is black char from the fires here. All these woods, the branches here burned from the fire here.

[04:20:01] What's difficult as it was the last few days is the conditions. It's still very dry here and the high winds, some of which I suspect is being picked by the microphone, spreads fire very quickly, even if it's just a very small hot spot leftover from a fire that was already out. That is the challenge.

The official number from the fire department here, 1,200 fires in Israel since last weekend, 250 of which are major fires. Again, after these are all out, then will come the investigation to figure out how many were arson and to try to figure out who started them, how many were negligent. For example, somebody tossing a cigarette butt from a car. Even that in these dry conditions can easily start a fire.

In Haifa, which is the largest city in northern Israel, 700 buildings damaged and destroyed. A number of injuries, but most of those, smoke inhalations. Fire crews have been incredibly active about evacuating areas to make sure there are no injuries. Many people, many hundreds of families, thousands of families waiting to find out if and when they can come back home.

Palestinian Authority lending a number of fire crews in Israel. Here in Haifa, in northern Israel, to helping fight the fires. The Palestinian leadership dealing with 88 fires. Most of those under control in the West Bank, in the northern part of the West Bank -- Max.

FOSTER: Why this talk of terrorism? It wouldn't normally be treated as terrorism, an arson attack. LIEBERMANN: Well, if it is an arson attack, the suspicion is from the

political leadership that it could be nationalistic in nature. It could have been intentionally started to try to hurt, to try to kill Israelis, especially in these conditions.

That is what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, that if they find out that fires are arson and fire investigators say there is no doubt at this point that it at least some of these fires are arson, they will be treated as terrorism. Not only because of the damage they've caused here, again, more than 700 buildings damaged or destroyed in Haifa alone, many other fires elsewhere in northern Israel. But also because of the reason for setting the fires, to kill people in some of these major cities in northern Israel.

We heard a short time ago there's another fire some 30 kilometers away from us. There ten families have been evacuated as the fire nears another town. This problem is not over as we continue with dry conditions and high winds here across the country.

FOSTER: OK. Oren in Haifa, thank you very much indeed.

In the U.S., Thanksgiving brought tragedy to families in Kentucky. Gunfire erupted at an annual Thanksgiving Day football game leaving two dead, four others wounded. One witness was live-streaming on Facebook when the shots rang out.

Here is CNN's Mary Maloney.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(GUNSHOTS)

MARY MALONEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A hail of bullets forced a crowd of people to take cover.

(GUNFIRE)

MALONEY: When the gunfire stops, the screaming begins.

This Louisville park hosted the Juice Bowl, an annual football tournament. Kids, parents, friends, and neighbors gathered to feast and watch football. Violence interrupted the festivities.

DWIGHT MITCHELL, LOUISVILLE METRO POLICE DEPARTMENT: Most people were having a good time as they do most of the time. But, unfortunately, this tragic situation has happened.

MALONEY: A cell phone recorded more than a dozen gunshots.

MITCHELL: We're thankful that more people didn't get hurt in this situation.

MALONEY: But some of those shots were deadly.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shot in the head like that. They are telling him to hold on. It's horrible. It's really horrible. MALONEY: As police investigate the motive, many in the crowd mourned

the lives lost.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get off --

MITCHELL: This is very tragic of what's happened. I mean, I'm saddened.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a sad time for Thanksgiving, and it's a sad day for the Juice Bowl.

MALONEY: I'm Mary Maloney reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: It was Mary Maloney there.

A 34-year-old mother of two has been found safe after disappearing three weeks ago. Sherri Papini went missing while jogging in northern California. Authorities announced her return on Thanksgiving Day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF TOM BOSENKO, SHASTA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: We are ecstatic to report that Sherri Papini has been located and reunited with her husband and family on this day of Thanksgiving.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Papini had been held and escaped her restraints to return to her family. Although no motive is yet known, there is a search underway for two reportedly armed in a dark SUV.

Now, tributes have been paid to one of the most iconic faces in American television. Florence Henderson who played the mother of "The Brady Bunch" has died at the age of 82.

Stephanie Elam looks back at the life and career of a woman loved on and off screen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That lovely lady is Florence Henderson who played America's favorite mom, Carol Brady, on the 1970s hit TV sitcom, "The Brady Bunch."

[04:25:00] But her real story wasn't so ideal. Born in 1934 in Dale, Indiana, Henderson grew up poor with an alcoholic father and a mother who left when she was just 12 years old. Henderson used her singing talent to entertain the family and help make ends meet.

FLORENCE HENDERSON: I don't ever remember not singing. And I would sing and pass the hat and I sing for groceries.

ELAM: Her big break came in 1951 when she landed a starring role in Rogers and Hammerstein's "Oklahoma." The singer-turned-actor took her talents to TV. In 1959, she was NBC's "Today" girl and became the first woman to guest host the "Tonight Show" in 1962.

In 1969, Henderson became Carol Brady.

HENDERSON: I created the kind of mother that I wished I'd had and that I think everyone longs for. I get so much fan mail from all over the world. And everybody wants a hug from me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah, yeah.

HENDERSON: And I hug everybody.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.

HENDERSON: I get so much affection.

ELAM: Henderson continued to act and sing on TV for decades after "The Brady Bunch." She even cha cha'd her way into our living rooms in 2010 on "Dancing with the Stars."

Henderson had four children with her first husband, Ira Bernstein. She met her second husband, hypnotherapist John Kappas, while undergoing treatment for stage fright and fear of flying.

HENDERSON: People used to kid John and say, "You hypnotized her."

ELAM: The treatment went so well, Henderson became a certified hypnotherapist herself.

Henderson became a patient of a different kind when at the height of her career she started to lose her hearing.

HENDERSON: You can't imagine for someone who makes their living through music and when you all of a sudden don't hear that piano or that violin, light instruments, it is the most terrifying feeling in the world.

ELAM: Doctors discovered she had an ear disease. After multiple surgeries, Henderson's hearing was restored.

HENDERSON: I have stainless steel and Teflon in both ears. I can cook in my ears. Nothing sticks to them.

ELAM: Henderson seemed to always look on the bright side.

HENDERSON: Here's the way I feel about it, Larry, if you're not having fun, you shouldn't be there.

LARRY KING, TV HOST: Say good night, Florence.

HENDERSON: Good night, Florence. Oh, good night. Good night, everyone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: A tribute there to American actress Florence Henderson, who's died at the age of 82. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:30:49] FOSTER: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM.

Let's get a check of the headlines for you this hour.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump says he's working hard even over Thanksgiving weekend. He tweeted on Thursday from his estate in Mar- a-Lago, Florida, that he's trying to get Carrier A.C. company, a furnace-making plant, to stay in the U.S. and not move jobs to Mexico. We've also heard from two sources that Trump will likely pick Chicago cubs owner Todd Ricketts as deputy secretary of the Commerce Department.

ISIS is claiming responsibility for a deadly truck bombing in Iraq saying it was in retaliation for the battle in Mosul. At least 80 people, mostly Iranian Shiite pilgrims, were killed at the gas station southeast of Baghdad.

Some Aleppo residents have less than ten days before they start starving to death. That's according to a Syrian activist introduced by "Reuters". At least 59 were killed in the besieged city on Thursday alone. Activists say a chemical attack involving chlorine killed one woman.

The war in Syria will become a key challenge for the U.S. President- elect Trump. Syria's leader has called Trump a natural ally, and Trump seems to want to change Washington's approach there.

CNN's Becky Anderson looks at what that could mean.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have been very clear that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): More than four years later, that red line has been crossed again and again. There's been little in the way of action to back up President Obama's warning, despite activists documenting the often deadly use of chemical weapons across Syria.

Shocking terror, even in a country almost numb to cruelty. A country that's been instead in civil war for nearly six years. ISIS festering there for much of it, preying on the country's complex and toxic mess.

But America's next president, Donald Trump, saw it in more simple terms on the campaign trail --

DONALD TRUMP (R), U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT: ISIS is honoring President Obama. He is the founder of ISIS. He's the founder of ISIS.

ANDERSON: That's not true, of course. But Syria's President Bashar al Assad has been at the center of it all, with Moscow throwing a huge amount of firepower onto Syria's battlefields to help him stay in control. Something Washington has been pushing against.

OBAMA: It is unimaginable that you can stop the civil war there when the overwhelming majority of people in Syria consider him to be a brutal, murderous dictator. He cannot regain legitimacy.

ANDERSON: The U.S. has given weapons and other support to rebels who want Assad gone, as well. That may be about to change.

TRUMP: We're backing rebels. We have no idea who they are. But I would certainly like to see what's going on. I'd like to find out who these people are that we want to give billions to. We have no idea. And sure, Assad is a bad guy, but you can have worse and maybe these people are worse.

ANDERSON: Some analysts think we should put all that to the side.

FAWAZ GERGES, AUTHOR, "ISIS: A HISTORY": We should not take what he said during the presidential campaign very seriously because it's incoherent, it's contradictory, it's counterproductive, and if he does translate what he said on the presidential, during the presidential campaign, this would be catastrophic.

ANDERSON: But the Kremlin doesn't seem to think so. It describes Trump and Putin's views on Syria as, quote, "phenomenally close." Meanwhile, millions of refugees have been forced from their homes. Many pouring towards Europe. For them, Trump has some familiar rhetoric.

TRUMP: We want to build safe zones. We'll do it in Syria. We'll get the Gulf States to put up the money. They'll do it.

ANDERSON: There have long been called places like here the United Arab Emirates and other states to do more to help the refugees. So far, they've mostly gone unanswered. They'd rather keep this at bay. This messy, uncontainable web of a patchwork of fighters, jihadi forces, and others, all armed to the teeth fighting in Syria.

[04:35:05] What president-elect Trump can or will do to untangle it remains to be seen.

Becky Anderson, CNN, Abu Dhabi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Now police in France are searching for a suspect after a woman was found dead inside a retirement home for religious people. A local official in southern France says a masked man forced his way into the home Friday morning. The intruder tied up a staffer member who was able to free herself and call police.

A source says a knife was used to kill the victim and that it appears she was the intended it target. Police do not think the attack was terror-related.

Police in the U.K. are looking into the deaths of dozens of men over concerns they could be the victims of a serial killer. Stephen Port was found guilty on Wednesday of murdering four gay men and drugging and sexually assaulting seven more. Now, deaths previously dismissed as drug overdoses are being reviewed as authorities are criticized for mishandling the case.

Erin McLaughlin has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Highly devious, manipulative, and self-obsessed. Police say Stephen Port was driven to kill by an overwhelming desire to have sex with younger gay men. All were drugged and unconscious. Port met his victims using dating apps and bought the drugs online. All four victims were in their early to mid-20s. Their bodies found not far from his east London home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These poor all found very close to where you live. Poor men, young men, the type of men that you say that you find attractive. They're all dead now, Stephen.

STEPHEN PORT: (INAUDIBLE) I know nothing about.

MCLAUGHLIN (on camera): This week, Stephen Port was found guilty of murder. But serious questions remain over how police handled the case, why they didn't identify port as a killer sooner. And some are accusing the police of homophobia.

PETER TATCHELL, HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGNER: I suspect that if the victims had been female, there would have been a much more robust and comprehensive investigation.

MCLAUGHLIN: The first victim was 23-year-old Anthony Walgate, his body found drugged outside Port's block of flats. Chillingly, it was Port who called police, pretending to be an innocent bystander.

OPERATOR: How old did he look?

PORT: Twenty.

OPERATOR: Do you know if he was awake?

PORT: No.

MCLAUGHLIN: Police tracked Port down. They discovered the two had met online. Port was arrested and charged with perverting the course of justice. And incredibly, allowed to walk free.

He killed again some two months later. In August, 2014, a dog walker found 22-year-old Gabriel Kovari's body in a cemetery, a mere 500 meters from Port's home. And then in September, another body, 21- year-old Daniel Whitworth found in the same place by the same dog walker.

BARBARA DENHAM, DOG WALKER: Please let him be drunk. Please let him be sleeping it off. Please don't let me find another body.

MCLAUGHLIN: In the victim's hands, a fake suicide note written by Port saying, "Please don't blame the guy I was with last night."

Later that same month, he met 25-year-old Jack Taylor on a gay dating app, Grinder. Port killed for the final time. Depositing Taylor's drugged body at the same Abbey Green Cemetery. He was finally arrested after being identified on surveillance footage.

Taylor's family blames police for not arresting him sooner.

DONNA TAYLOR, VICTIM'S SISTER: If they'd done their job properly, Jack would still be here. So, to me and to us as a family, they're just as responsible for Jack's death.

MCLAUGHLIN: Scotland Yard has referred itself to independent investigators for review.

Erin McLaughlin, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

Still to come up, the plights of Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims. We hear from families fleeing a brutal military crackdown.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:42:32] FOSTER: Central America has taken a double hit from Hurricane Otto and an offshore earthquake in the Pacific. The U.S. National Weather Service says a tsunami threat has passed, but Otto remains dangerous. It's downgraded to a tropical storm but churns near the borders of Nicaragua and Costa Rica. It's already being blamed for several deaths in Panama.

Meteorologist Derek Van Dam has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It's been a difficult 24 hours across Central America as simultaneous natural disasters struck the region. Hurricane Otto making landfall at about 1:00 p.m. on Thursday in southern Nicaragua. And then nearly the same time a magnitude 7.0 offshore sending tsunami threats to the West Coast of Nicaragua and parts of Central America.

Fortunately, the tsunami threat was marginal, didn't create a destructive wave. But the greatest concerns going forward will be from Otto and the potential of flash flooding.

Here's what we know. The information to send along to you at home is that this storm is still a formidable threat. It is moving off shore as we speak and now over the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

And unfortunately, the storm still is packing quite a punch with winds in excess of 100 kilometers per hour and the potential for flash flooding as the storm still has another six hours of impacting land.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Derek there.

Now, Myanmar is facing more charges of human rights abuses after refugees are fleeing and crossing into Bangladesh because of violence that's plagued their home for weeks. Some say they have suffered rape, torture, and witnessed family being killed by the military. CNN is still working to verify those claims.

But CNN's Saima Mohsin is in there in Bangkok with more details.

And what sparked this latest round of violence?

SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Max, in early October, it's believed that some alleged Rohingya activists took up arms and targeted border guards along the Arakan state border. Arakan state, of course, closed off where millions of Muslim Rohingya are effectively confined in the state in one particular area.

Now, in a response to that violent attack, and again I say allegedly by Rohingya Muslims, the government has now carried out a violent crackdown. And since then more than 100 people have been killed. Now it's incredibly hard to get in.

[04:45:00] In fact, nobody's being allowed in right now. And it's hard to hear the personal testimonies of people. But we have managed to speak to some of those who have managed to escape and come across the border into Bangladesh.

Now, I've got to tell you some of the images that we are seeing on social media that they're managing to leak out are horrific. We haven't been able to include all of them because they are just too graphic.

But take a listen to some of the testimonies that we've got from the women.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(CHILD CRYING)

MOHSIN (voice-over): He doesn't know it yet, but Abu Ashim (ph) was born into one of the most persecuted minorities on earth, the stateless ethnic minority Rohingya. They're facing yet another crackdown by Myanmar's authorities, and their accounts are harrowing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): They've raped women. Some women died after being tortured. They even killed a newborn baby. After seeing this, I got scared and fled from my home. The same thing could have happened to us.

MOHSIN: Abu Ashim's mother carried him for four days trekking day and night from their home in Maungdaw in a desperate attempt to reach the Naf River and cross into neighboring Bangladesh. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): The Myanmar military was

shooting heavily. When they fired shots, we laid flat on the ground. We kept moving from one village to another. After that, we had to cross the river in the middle of the night.

MOHSIN: She made it across with her loved ones. Her friend Sanima's family was torn apart on the way.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): When we started our journey, there were six of us. We lost three members of our family. My husband and my son were killed. My other son has gone missing.

MOHSIN: CNN can't independently verify the reports or these disturbing videos posted on social media from inside Arakan state. The Rohingya area is in lockdown with access to media and aid agencies blocked.

JOHN MCKISSIK, UNHCR BANGLADESH: It seems to be the aim of the Myanmar military to ethnically cleanse this population.

MOHSIN: Myanmar's government denies reports of human rights abuse, claiming they're only targeting violent attackers who killed nine border guards on October 9th. Since then more than 100 people have been killed, and around 600 others arrested.

Human Rights Watch also published NASA's satellite images which that I say shows more than 1,200 Rohingya homes that were burned down by the authorities which the government denies saying that attackers carried out the arson.

For the few who managed to flee the violence, they ended up here, a squalid refugee camp in southern Bangladesh, which is struggling to cope with the influx of thousands of Rohingya. Bangladesh has tightened security to push them back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We left everything back there to save our lives. How can we go back? They will kill us.

MOHSIN: Now, the families here will wait and hope for a chance to live without fear of persecution.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MOHSIN: Well, Max, it's not the first time we've heard that uncompromising term "ethnic cleansing" as far as the Rohingya are concerned. And this kind of systematic violence and crackdown has repeated time and time again.

And it's hard when you see images like that we've seen in this report and hear from those women to understand how it can continue to be ignored not just by international organizations and countries but also by the Myanmar government itself, of course.

Aung San Suu Kyi, herself a flag bearer for human rights, a noble peace prize winner, now, of course, not the president but the strongest voice in the NLD government in Myanmar, remaining quiet on this issue, saying it's not the only issue that her government has to face. A willful blindness if you like. But a lot of hopes were resting on her once she came into government which simply falling flat on a deafening silence.

As one group Fortify Rights that worked hard with Rohingya refugees amongst many, they're saying they are deeply disappointed by Aung San Suu Kyi and her government and their response -- Max.

FOSTER: Saima in Bangkok, thank you.

You're watching NEWSROOM. Still to come, an uplifting story from a Syrian city torn apart by war. How one of the world's most famous authors chipped in to help this little girl who's known nothing but violence in Aleppo.

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[04:53:47] FOSTER: And what to do the day after the Thanksgiving holiday? Well, shop, of course. The lines are growing, and the locals are restless in their hunt for bargain on Black Friday, so name because retailers are hoping big sales will push their books into the black.

Now, shoppers across the U.S. are hoping to score big deals and begin their Christmas season. Many stores this year hyped even more savings online. Some of which have been available since this month. A report says Americans have already spent more than $25 billion online this month. That's a 3.5 percent increase from last year.

And finally, it's hard these days to find a somewhat happy story or positive one coming out of the war-torn city of Aleppo. But this one does qualify. For the children living there, death and destruction is routine, a part of life. But one little girl used the internet to make two requests: an end to the war and a "Harry Potter" book.

So, author J.K. Rowling delivered a bit of magic.

CNN's Robyn Curnow has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Amidst unbelievable destruction in Syria, a small bit of good news for a little girl.

This is Bana Alabed, the 7-year-old lives with her family in eastern Aleppo, an almost constant gunfire and bombardment.

[04:55:05] Bana and her mother tweet about life and the city under siege.

One of the recent posts reads, "Good morning from Aleppo. We are still alive."

BANA ALABED, ALEPPO RESIDENT: I am sad. It's so bad.

CURNOW: In a recent respite from the war, Bana was able to see one of the "Harry Potter" movies and became an instant fan. But you can't find "Harry Potter" novels in Aleppo.

So, this week, the little girl's mother posted a message to author J.K. Rowling saying Bana would like to read the book. The famous writer responded, "I hope you do read the book because I think you'd like it. Sending you lots and lots of love."

Rowling also sent e-books of all of her potter novels. Bana's mother says her daughter is now happily reading and posted this thank you picture and video.

ALABED: How are you? I started reading your books. Thank you very, very much. I love you.

CURNOW: A little girl's wish granted, now reading to forget the war.

Robyn Curnow, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: I'm Max Foster in London.

Our viewers in the United States, to you, "EARLY START" with Christine Romans and Boris Sanchez. Just coming for you.

For everyone else, I'll be back with a check of the headlines after this short break. You're watching CNN.

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